Government should set up a homeless shelter that provides vagrants with a place to stay throughout the night and the day, it was suggested yesterday.

And Corporation of Hamilton Secretary Roger Sherratt and Hamilton City Ranger Mervin Dickinson said they believed the homeless population in the capital had not only risen over the last year but also that it seemed to be getting younger.

“We're seeing more and more young people on the streets,” Mr. Sherratt said. “Quite a few of them are around 19 or 20.”

They both described how Hamilton's parks had now become the refuges where large numbers of homeless people sleep each night.

Emphasising that he felt the homeless issue was “not just a Government problem but a community problem”, Mr. Sherratt said Bermuda is in need of a place where homeless men and women can go without being bound by restrictions.

He was agreeing with a suggestion put forward by Mr. Dickinson, who described how most of each day patrolling the city is taken up with dealing with homeless people who make their beds in Hamilton's green areas.

“I feel sorry for a lot of the people I encounter. Some of them have no choice. I think the Government could help by maybe implementing a similar programme to the Salvation Army but without the restrictions that they have.”

Mr. Sherratt said: “The homeless problem in Hamilton is getting worse and it's a difficult issue. These people tend to congregate in the city because there are places to sleep and they can wash cars and make a bit of money to help them survive.

“It is an issue for the whole community and it has to be borne in mind that when these people are committing criminal acts it is something that needs to be dealt with.”

Mr. Sherratt described how, in one incident, 18 people had been found sleeping in Cedars Park, on Dundonald Street.

And Mr. Dickinson added: “If you go down to Par-la-Ville park at six in the morning you're bound to find a large number of people sleeping rough in the park.”

Mr. Sherratt continued: “The problem with them doing this is that a lot of the time these people defecate and urinate in the area.

He added that had been found sleeping on the porch of the Bermuda Library.

“I'd like to think people didn't have to sleep rough but a lot of the time their problems are directly linked to drugs habits. Focusing on drug rehabilitation would be one way of dealing with it but another good idea would be to have a shelter where people can sleep at night and spend time doing activities during the day.”

Mr. Sherratt said he thought the Salvation Army did “a terrific job” and added: “I don't know what we would do without them.”